Angels In Their Presence | Season 2
14 / 29
The most important and famous hadith in Islam is the Hadith of Jibreel (as), in which Jibreel (as) comes to the Prophet ﷺ to ask him questions about Islam, Iman, the Hour, and its Signs. What can we learn from this hadith and Jibreel’s (as) line of questioning?
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. There are two major incidents in the Sira where a large number of companions encountered either the angel being Jibril A.S. or the angels as a whole. The angels as a whole is the incident of Badr, of course, and we'll talk about the battle of Badr. But the most famous hadith in Islam and the most important hadith in Islam is probably Hadith Jibril. According to many of the scholars, this hadith, which is known as the Hadith of Jibril A.S. This hadith has been narrated by Umar bin Al-Khattab radiAllahu ta'ala anhu, but there are numerous other narrations that give us the full context. So I want you to imagine that you're in the masjid of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and according to the narrations of Abu Dharr radiAllahu ta'ala anhu as well as Abu Huraira radiAllahu anhu, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, when he would sit with his companions, we wouldn't be able to distinguish the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam from his companions in regards to where he was sitting. Meaning that he would sit at the same level as them. It's not that he would sit on a chair and they would all sit around him. And so when people would come from outside, sometimes they wouldn't be able to know which one of the companions or who amongst the people was the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam. So we said to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, let's, you know, make something for you so that if people come, at least if a stranger comes, then they know who you are. And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, while he refused anything that would resemble like a throne or something that was too pompous, they said to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, how about we make a small bench for you by just putting the dirt together? And it's like a little bench of clay. It's slightly elevated so that at least if someone was to come, they would recognize your position, right? So the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam accepted that. So one day we're sitting with the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and he's
sitting in a spot and suddenly a man comes amongst us and he is the most handsome and the most good smelling. They said he had a scent of musk that they had ever smelled. I mean, a beautiful man comes to the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam in this Majlis amongst the people. Now they were used to being interrupted by Bedouins, right? This man looked very different. He had a different aura to him. His clothes were exceedingly white. His hair was exceedingly black. And so he had a very, very white thawb and it looked like no dirt ever touched his garments. On top of that, we could see no signs of safar, no signs of travel on him. But at the same time, none of us knew who he was. So it's very mysterious, right? I mean, if he's someone from far away, then his clothes should show it. And he would look like he just traveled a long journey. And if he's someone that lives in the city, then we would have known him, especially when he looks like this. So we were very taken aback by his coming. And this shows you, by the way, that Jabir al-Islam would not just come in the form of Dihya, right? Because if it was only Dihya and if he was limited to that in any way, then that would have been the giveaway there, right? So he comes and he enters into the Majlis of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and he stops at the edge and he says, As-Salamu Alaikum Ya Muhammad, peace be unto you o Muhammad SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam responds with Salam, and he says can I come closer to you, Ya Muhammad? And the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says come close. He asks three times. Can I come closer? Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam says come close, until eventually he comes right in front of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, and he is sitting directly in front of him, his knees in the knees of the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam and he puts his hands on his knees, so he's looking directly at the Prophet SallAllahu Alaihi Wasallam, very close to him. close to him and he says, Ya Muhammad, tell me what Islam is. Khbirni a'an al-Islam So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says what Islam is. He says Islam means to worship Allah and not associate anything with him in that worship,
to establish salah, to establish the zakah, to fast the month of Ramadan and to perform the Hajj when you are able to do so. And he then says, Sadaqt You've told the truth. And so the Sahaba say, Ajibna minhu, yas'aluhu wa yusaddiquhu Like we were confused by that because he asked the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam the question and then he was the one that said, you have spoken the truth. As if he's quizzing him, as if he is testing him. So we found that odd as well. Then he says, tell me about Iman. Tell me about faith. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says to believe in Allah, to believe in the angels, to believe in the books, to believe in the prophets, to believe in the day of judgment, to believe in divine decree. And then he says, Sadaqt once again, you've told the truth. And then he says, and tell me what Ihsan is. Tell me what excellence is. And he said, it is to worship Allah as if you can see him. And even if you can't see him, then you know that he sees you. And he says, you have spoken the truth. Sadaqt Then he says, Ya Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam Tell me about the hour. So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not respond. He lowered his head, he didn't respond. So he said, again, tell me about the hour. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam did not respond. Then he asked him a third time and he still didn't respond. The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam then said, the one who is being asked does not know any more than the one who's asking the question. Okay. So, you know, this Sa'a, this hour has been concealed even from Jibreel Alayhi Salam. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam knows who he is. Right? So the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam is taken aback by the question. And he says, neither the one who is asking nor the one who's being asked knows. Neither of us know when the hour is. So he says, tell me about its signs. And so the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentions when you see barefoot Bedouins competing to build tall buildings. And when you see a woman giving birth to her master, right? So he gives some of the signs, particularly of Fasaat, of corruption, of the day of judgment. And Jibreel Alayhi Salam, this man,
who we know is Jibreel Alayhi Salam, says, Sadaqt, you've told the truth. And then he gets up and he goes away. And, you know, they looked in every direction and he was completely out of sight. He rapidly got up from the majlis of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and he disappeared. And we looked in every direction and we couldn't find him. So anyway, this first and foremost, you know, shows once again that Jibreel Alayhi Salam could take the form of others, not just Dihya radiAllahu ta'ala Anhu when he came in human form. Secondly, that this was a great blessing to the sahabah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam because anyone that was in the majlis that day got to encounter Jibreel Alayhi Salam. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam confirmed that to them. He said, do you know who that is? And he even challenged them, Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, he said, go look and see if you can find him. No one could find him. And the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, do you know who that is? And he said, that is Jibreel Alayhi Salam coming to teach you your religion, coming to teach you your religion. And what the ulama say is that there are four types of questions, right? So this was the questioning of Jibreel Alayhi Salam. They say there are questions that are tiham, it's accusations, right? Did you really do this, did you really do that? Then there are questions that are called istifham, questions where you're trying to understand something yourself. Raf'ul jahli an nafsik, that you're trying to remove ignorance from yourself. And then there are questions that are ta'lim, education in general, right? So to increase your knowledge of something. And then there are questions that are called sualat jibrailiya, questions like the questioning of Jibreel Alayhi Salam, which is raf'ul jahli an ghayrik, to remove ignorance of someone else. You ask a question that you know the answer to in hopes that those who are listening will understand and they will be educated as a result. So SubhanAllah, Jibreel Alayhi Salam, and of course Allah sends Jibreel Alayhi Salam, Jibreel Alayhi Salam is making a scene here, right? And this is going to be an unforgettable incident
to the people. And the beauty of that is that what did Allah send him to in this unforgettable scene? Was it just some miracle that takes place? No, it was the fundamentals of the religion that would then be solidified in the memory of the people. And SubhanAllah, this goes on to become as a result of that incident, the most important hadith in Islam. And so mission was certainly accomplished.
Welcome back!
Bookmark content
Download resources easily
Manage your donations
Track your spiritual growth
